The Way It is
by ifidietonight
Summary: Madge is confident and sarcastic. Gale is quiet and reserved. When they're not at each other's throats, they pretend the other doesn't exist. That doesn't make them go away, though. Madge is a mystery to Gale, and Gale is a mystery to Madge. - Slightly AU where they have kinda swapped personalities. Gale's POV.
1. Introductions

Madge Undersee wakes up every morning in a warm bed with a cup of tea and a feeling of serenity. Every morning she looks in the mirror and, for the most part, she likes what she sees. Her pale skin is almost always incandescently smooth, her wide eyes exactly the right shade of blue, and her hair falls in tousled golden waves down her back without any assistance. Perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Every morning Madge tiptoes downstairs, careful not to wake her mother from her morphling induced sleep. She always breathes a sigh of relief whenever she reaches the bottom. Waking her mother would mean having to console her and wince at the painful sobs. She then walks into the kitchen after breathing that sigh of relief, and feels a stab of disappointment that only the butler is there to greet her. Mayor Undersee is too busy for breakfast with his daughter. However, Madge never lets it show. She teases her butler, and snorts at his sarcastic replies, while she forces dry toast and stale disappointment down her throat. Then she sets off for school. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Gale Hawthorne wakes up every morning in an uncomfortable bed with his brother's elbow in his face and a crick in his neck. Every morning he only has time for a brief glance in the mirror to flatten down his thick black hair before he departs to the forest to set snares at sunrise. He always arrives back in time to eat a breakfast of whatever his mother can scrape together. His eyes usually droop and his hands ache from the intricate knot tying. Poor. Poor, poor, poor. Every morning Gale helps his mother attempt to scrub the coal dust off of his 3 younger siblings, in a vain effort to appear presentable for school. He always smirks at the scowl on Rory's face as his mother attacks him with cold water and a sponge. He winks at Posy and Vick, who erupt into giggles. They all know who Rory is trying to impress. Then they set off for school. Poor, poor, poor.

* * *

Madge and Gale are equally mysterious in their own ways. Madge could have been the popular girl, the girl that everyone looked up to. It would take no effort with her prettiness, confidence and sly sense of humour. She just chooses not to. She doesn't want to be admired to her face and hated behind her back. So she sits with Katniss Everdeen at lunch. She only replies to the popular group with short, sarcastic answers. Gale could have been a serial dater with his rugged good looks, but he is too quiet, too reserved. Sometimes even too shy. He talks only to his friends, and never replies if anyone else tries to converse with him. They both have fiery tempers and strong beliefs.

Madge is a mystery to Gale, and Gale is a mystery to Madge.

Maybe that's why they notice each other so much.

**A/N: Okay, so this idea came to me at like 3am last night and i had to write it out. That's why this is super short. If you don't understand, I've changed Gale's and Madge's personalities around, so Gale is the more quiet one, and Madge is the more confident one. I will try to continue this, but my plot is still kinda short, so any suggetsions would be awesome. Kay, ramble is over.**


	2. Matches

**Disclaimer: All characters and places belong to Suzanne Collins**

* * *

"I don't see why I have to-"

"Because, Gale, for the 5th time, I promised Prim I'd be home right after The Hob. You know how worried she gets when she's ill," Gale winces at the impatient edge in Katniss' voice. They're walking away from the Hob, through the Seam. Normally he wouldn't push it, but he's desperate enough even to face Katniss' wrath.

"Why can't we just take them next week?"

Katniss lets out an irritated sigh and snaps, "You know we can't afford to skip Mayor Undersee's house. Those strawberries are our biggest sale," She looks at Gale out the corner of her eye, "Why don't you want to go, anyway? The Undersees don't bite,"

"Certain Undersees do," Gale mutters quietly under his breath, not intending Katniss to hear him. But, having hunter's ears, she does.

"Is this about Madge?" She obviously takes his silence as a yes, because she stops abruptly and narrows her eyes at him, "Do you have a crush on her or something?"

"No!" he protests, a bit too quickly he realises, as Katniss raises her eyebrows. "She just… makes me uncomfortable," he adds. It's the truth. The way her blue eyes seem to x-ray him makes him feel vulnerable, and that's not a state that Gale likes to be in. Madge Undersee should be avoided.

Katniss just rolls her eyes and says, "We can't lose out on good money just because you're too shy," They start to walk again. "And Madge isn't that bad once you get to know her,"

"Whatever you say," he grunts. Katniss is right, of course. But that doesn't mean he has to be happy about it.

They say goodbye at the path that will lead Gale towards the town, and towards Madge. It's not just that he feels uncomfortable. Madge has an unnerving effect on him that makes him sometimes blush and stand there like an idiot, other times simply infuriating him. The way she opens the door and smirks at him as though she knows his deepest secrets. He wouldn't put it past her to actually know them.

He finds himself at her doorstep in next to no time. The house is intimidating. 3 stories tall, surrounded by an immaculate garden complete with flowers brimming over pots. It's a cream colour, with a white porch. He feels out of place next to something so clean. Gale gingerly knocks on the door, hoping that she isn't in.

She is.

She opens the door, dressed in a plain blue sundress. Gale finds himself thinking about how nice it looks on her, as much as he hates to admit it. She coughs and a smile plays on her lips. He averts his eyes when he notices he's been staring. What a great start.

"What a lovely surprise Hawthorne. Finally given into my charm and come to declare your passionate love?"

Gale feels himself blush, despite the fact that he gets these types of comments every time he goes to the Undersee house. Madge always teases that Gale will fall for her one day, or winks and asks him when he was going to ask her out. She finds it outrageously funny. Gale finds it annoying.

When he shakes his head, Madge puts her hand over her heart and sighs.

"You hurt me, Hawthorne. One day you'll come to your senses," She crosses her arms. "If my allure didn't bring you here, then what did?"

Gale clears his throat and mutters, "Strawberries,"

Madge looks confused, "Without Katniss?"

"She had to go look after her sister," When Madge doesn't say anything, but just looks at him, he starts to ramble, "She's got the flu, you see. And Katniss gets worried about her. Prim that is. Well her name's Primrose, but everyone calls her Prim for short," He trails off, red creeping into his cheeks. Madge just nods.

"I know Prim." They stand there for a few seconds, "Let me get your money," she finally murmurs. Gale gives a curt nod and watches her as she strides down the hallway and out of sight. When she disappears, he releases a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and slumps his shoulders. He feels angry with himself. He needs to stop letting her get at him. He needs to learn to ignore her stares. Most of all, he needs to learn how not to be an idiot in her sight. He doesn't do it with anyone else, mostly because he never talks to anyone else apart from his friends. But something about her makes his tongue feel loose. He straightens up when he sees her making her way back to him, coins in hand. They swap the strawberries and coins.

Before Gale turns to leave, Madge stops him.

"Tell Prim I hope she feels better," For some reason, this rubs Gale the wrong way.

"I'm not your messenger, Undersee" he asks voice full of venom. "Why do you even care?"

"Because I'm worried about her," her voice equally sharp.

Gale snorts. "Yeah right. You don't care about anyone but yourself, and maybe what colour the pretty dress your daddy's buying you next is gonna be," Madge narrows her eyes.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Hawthorne?"

"That you're a privileged townie thinking nothing but privileged townie thoughts about dresses and shoes. You've got nothing to worry about in your perfect little life, so don't strain yourself to worry about a Seam kid's illness,"

"You're telling me not to 'strain myself'? I actually care about people, unlike you. You only care if it benefits you in some way. I think you need to get off your pedestal and take a good look at yourself. You have no idea what goes on in my so called 'privileged townie thoughts', so don't preach to me,"

They are inches away now, anger driving them towards each other.

Gale sneers, "What are you going to do? Go crying to your stuck up Mummy about it?"

The sound of the slap echoes around them.

"You have no right. No right," Madge says, her voice low and shaking.

His cheek is stinging but mostly he's surprised. The slap seems to have woken him up, and he's filled with regret.

"Madge…" he manages to choke out.

"Don't call me Madge" she snaps.

"Undersee, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me-"

"But that's what you think isn't it?" He looks down, ashamed. "Leave," she says quietly. Her sudden calmness scares the hell out of him. What he said must have hurt her a lot. Gale finds himself aching to take those words back, snatch them right out of the air and lock them away, destroy them. But he can't. All he can do is say sorry.

"Just let me apolo-"

She shakes her head and cuts him off, "Just leave, Hawthorne. And take your strawberries with you," Madge shoves them at him, marches into the house and firmly closes the door.

Gale stands there with a handful of coins, useless strawberries, and an aching in his body.

* * *

It wasn't always like this. Gale didn't have any problems with town people. He didn't snap at everybody. And he certainly didn't have a problem with Madge Undersee.

He had never spoken two words to her, but he was as in love with Madge Undersee as an 8 year old could be. As he was 2 years older than her, he only caught glimpses of her in school, but that was enough for Gale. He was mesmerised by the way her golden hair caught the sun and how she always had a half smile on her face. He never spoke to her – he was painfully shy. Still is.

Every year, District 12 holds a sort of fete, where everyone gets together to support 'district pride'. There are various stalls that sell food, drinks, and some that hold games. People mostly come for the dancing, though. Town and Seam people alike dance to the tune of the fiddlers. It's a time for everyone to forget their problems.

The year that Gale was 8, he went to the fete with his family. The previous day, he had decided to screw up his courage and talk to Madge. So, as he stood in the square filled with people, he stood on his tiptoes and searched the crowd for curly golden hair. It proved difficult with all the blonde town people. He was beginning to lose hope when he spotted her sitting down and watching the dancers with a whimsical smile. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and sat down next to her. She turned to look at him as he sat down.

She grinned and said "Hi," His palms felt sweaty and his mouth dry. What had she said? _Hi. She said hi. Just say hi back._

"Hey," he managed to choke out. The silence stretched out, not entirely uncomfortable. Young Gale felt himself becoming less nervous. "Gale," Madge frowned. "My name. My name's Gale,"

She tilted her head to the side, "I'm Madge," _As though Gale didn't know that._

"Pretty name,"

Madge giggled, her happiness contagious, as Gale felt his mouth tug into a smile. They watched the dancers. Gale felt content, as though he and Madge were in their own little bubble.

"I love dancing," she declared after a while. Gale swallowed. Did that mean he should ask her to dance? He opened his mouth to ask when a sharp voice cut through their bubble, effectively popping it.

"Madge! Where have you been?" Mayor Undersee stood in front of his daughter, arms crossed.

"Watching the dancers with Gale, Daddy,"

That's when the Mayor seemed to notice Gale for the first time. He appraised him, which made Gale feel as though he was under a microscope.

"Really," the Mayor murmured.

"Yes, Daddy," Madge replied, her face shining, "Gale said I had a pretty name," She turned to Gale and smiled brightly, making him blush. The Mayor didn't miss the blush that stained the young Seam boy's cheeks. He raised his eyebrows.

"Gale, eh? Gale Hawthorne?"

Gale tipped his head into a nod and wondered how the Mayor knew his surname. The Mayor turned to his daughter, "Your mother needs your help, Madge,"

Her face turned solemn and she nodded, following her father back through the crowd. Just before she disappeared, she turned and waved at Gale. The Mayor frowned as he saw his daughter's action. Then the crowd engulfed them, leaving Gale sitting by himself.

Gale felt warm inside, and sat there, thinking, until a hand touched his shoulder. He turned around to see his father standing there with an angry expression.

"Dad?" he asked, confused.

"You got a crush on Madge Undersee?"

"No," Gale replied quickly, rubbing his nose. He always rubbed his nose when he was lying, and his father knew that.

Sighing, Mr Hawthorne sat down next to his son.

"There are certain things you have to learn in life, son, and its better you learn them now. Firstly, no good can come from associating with townies, especially the Mayor's daughter. They don't care about us, so we shouldn't care about them. Secondly, you could never date Madge Undersee even if she did give you the time of day. The Mayor won't let her, and you don't cross the Mayor when it comes to his daughter. Do you understand?"

Gale nodded, but he didn't understand.

"I want you to promise me that you won't get involved with the likes of her,"

"Promise,"

It took Gale a while, but he managed to put Madge out of his head. His father was right. She didn't even acknowledge him after that day. And when Gale's father was blown to bits in the mines when Gale was 13, he finally understood. Townies didn't have to suffer like the Seam. Townie and Seam don't belong together.

* * *

He thinks of all this as he walks through the town and back to the Seam. Back to where he belongs. His body is filled with the heaviness of regret. He doesn't know why he said all of that. Sure, he thinks it's true, but when does Gale talk to people, and Madge of all people? Shame swirls in his head. If his mother had seen, she would've have killed him. She'd tell him that she raised him up to be a gentleman, not rude and ignorant.

Gale needs to make it up to Undersee. But how? She wouldn't let him apologise, and he had nothing to give her. He rubs his temples. He needs help.

His mother would strangle him if she knew what he'd done. His brothers and friends would all ask questions. Katniss wasn't girly enough and he couldn't talk to her about Madge. That only left one person.

Posy wouldn't be suspicious, and she was one of the only girls he knew. He'd have to bribe her to keep her mouth shut, but she was the best person for advice.

He follows the dirt paths through the Seam to his house. As soon as he opens the door, Posy barrels into his legs.

"Gale, Gale, you're back! I missed you!"

He laughs, "Missed you too, Pose." A thought strikes him. "Hey Pose; do you wanna go pick some flowers for Mum in the Meadow?"

"Yes!" she squeals. Posy loves the Meadow.

10 minutes later, he finds himself holding a bouquet of flowers, while Posy looks for more pink ones.

"Pose, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replies, her face taking on a seriousness that only a 4 year old could wear.

"If I made…a girl angry, how should I make it up?"

Posy scrunches her nose in thought, "Did you make Katniss angry?"

"No…not Katniss," he hesitates before he says, "Can you keep a secret Pose?"

Her eyes widen, "A secret?"

"Yeah, a super special secret that you can't tell anyone about,"

"A super special secret?" She thinks for a second, and then breaks out in a grin, "Sure!"

He beckons her over, playing along with the game.

"I made Madge Undersee angry," he whispers. Posy looks surprised.

"Is she the one with pretty hair?" Gale grins before he can stop himself.

"Yeah, that's the one. Well, I said something really mean to her and she won't let me say sorry. So, how should I make it up to her?"

Posy takes a couple of minutes to think, her little face sporting a look of intense concentration. She looks at Gale and then runs off. Gale sits there, confused, until Posy comes back 5 minutes later, with a bunch of pink and yellow flowers. She shoves it into Gale's free hand, and takes the other bunch off of him.

"Flowers," she says proudly, "Give Madge flowers!" Gales looks at the flowers doubtfully.

"Are you sure?"

Posy rolls her eyes, "Flowers are pretty and they always cheer Mummy up,"

He twirls the flowers around in his hand. It wouldn't hurt to give it a go, could it?

"I'll take them to her tomorrow. Thanks, Pose,"

Posy smiles brightly and they travel home, Posy skipping ahead, and Gale with a lighter conscience.

* * *

**A/N: Phew. I worked hard to get this out pretty quick, and it's still relatively short. I loved writing young!Gale. He was sweet when he was younger sigh. I know I said this was going to be from Madge's POV, but Gale kept nudging me to write it from his POV so... I might do alternating or stick to Gale, idk. **

** Thank you all for the reviews/follows/favourites, they made my day (:**


	3. Burn

**Disclaimer: All characters and places belong to the queen, Suzanne Collins**

* * *

Rubbing his neck, Gale stands at the door of the Undersee house, waiting for an answer to his knock. His stomach feels heavy, and his palms sweaty. He's felt like that all day. Internal debates have been raging through his head. Two voices hissing at each other.

_'Why are you even bothering?'_

'She deserves an apology'

_'She doesn't even want one'_

'It's the right thing to do'

_'Why do you even care?'_

The other voice couldn't think of an answer to that. He had sat in school, zoned out, much to the frustration of his friends and teachers. His friends thought he was going crazy. They kept asking what was wrong but he couldn't say.

"Oh, I'm just wondering whether I should take flowers or not to Madge Undersee,"

That would have gone down well. When the bell rang, Gale still didn't know what to do. He found his siblings and walked them home. He avoided thinking about what he was going to do, instead teasing Rory about Prim. By the time they arrived back at the house, Rory was red-faced and stomped off to his room. By that time, Gale had decided not to go. What did he owe Madge? He sat on the sofa and listened to Posy chatter to Vick.

"And Mummy said that if I was good she'd take me to the tailors to look at all the pretty dresses-"

The flowers caught his eye. Damn things.

"And if I was extra good, she would let me choose a colour-"

They were taunting him, with their obnoxious pinks and yellows.

"For a birthday dress, and I said that I wanted pink because that's my super favourite colour-"

Everyone fell silent as Gale jumped up. 3 pairs of eyes followed him as he walked over to the flowers and picked them up. He cleared his throat.

"I've just gotta go somewhere. I'll be back soon," He caught Posy's eye and she beamed at him. He pleaded with his eyes for her not to say anything. She gave a little nod and went back to chattering. His mother and Vick averted their attention back to Posy. You can't ignore Posy when she's talking.

"But you said that blue would suit me better, didn't you Mummy? So we…"

Gale slipped out of the house and headed to the town, a smile on his face. Sometimes, Posy was a hell of a good ally.

* * *

Gale's just about to leave, when the door inches open. Madge stands there with a glare on her face and her arms crossed.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Hawthorne?" He blanches at the edge in her voice. She's angry.

"I, uh, I came to give you these," He thrusts the flowers towards her. She watches him for a second, before studying the flowers. Gale feels dread. The flowers must look cheap to her. Too bright, too shabby. "I wanted to apologise properly, because you wouldn't let me do it the other day - not that I blame you, of course. But I felt bad and my sister said that I should bring you flowers. I know that they're not fancy and they look horrible, but it's the best I can-"

"Beautiful," She takes the flowers and gives him a small smile. "They're beautiful," They stand there awkwardly. Gale doesn't know what to say. Should he leave? He's already made a fool of himself.

Madge cocks her head to the side, "Do you wanna come in?"

No. Say no.

"Sure," He mentally kicks himself. It's like he wants to look like an idiot.

He slowly makes his way through the door, and finds himself in the kitchen. Just as big as he imagined. It's strewn with pots and dirty plates, but it's still a damn sight nicer than his kitchen at home, which is the same room as the living room.

"Sorry about the mess, I haven't had a chance to clean up properly," she says as she puts the flowers in some water.

He frowns. Undersee cleans? Doesn't she have maids for that?

She catches the look he gives her and snorts, "I'm not totally lazy. No point in hiring maids when I could just as easily do the job. Or so my father says," She murmurs the last bit, as though she doesn't want Gale to hear. "Follow me," she says, loudly.

She leads him down the corridor, and into the living room. With polished wooden floors and spotless white walls and furniture, the living room is like nothing Gale has seen before.

"Close your mouth, Hawthorne," Madge chuckles beside him. She gestures for him to sit down. He chooses an armchair and carefully sits down, trying not do make it too dirty. She smirks at him and perches herself on the couch, bringing her feet up next to her. Gale looks around the room, taking in every detail. He never thought he'd be sitting here, Undersee lounging across from him. His eyes settle on a book.

"_Pride and Prejudice_"he reads aloud. He looks up at Madge, who's biting her lip.

"It's my favourite," She looks away. Gale turns the book over in his hands, and scans the writing on the back.

"Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Bingley, Mr Darcy. Weird names," he smirks.

Madge looks at him, "It's old. Really old," She leans forward and lowers her voice, "Like, 'from before' old," The smirk slips from his face and he stares in disbelief at Madge. All books from _before_ were banned. Wouldn't want people getting any ideas. So how the hell did Madge Undersee get this book? He opens his mouth to ask, when she shakes her head and mouths, _Bugged_, at him. So the Undersee's house is being watched.

"Why's it your favourite?" He changes the subject.

She shrugs, "It's romantic, but real at the same time. The characters aren't perfect and they don't fall in love straight away. It's believable. Those are my favourite type of books,"

"You read a lot then?" he asks, eyebrows raised.

"Yes. It's not that shocking," Madge answers curtly, glaring at him.

Gale looks down. He came over to apologise, not make her even angrier. "I know, it's just that I didn't know you liked to read,"

"I didn't know you could," she bites back, but with a smile.

"Ouch,"

Madge rolls her eyes, and then furrows her eyebrows as though she's thinking. "Would you like to see the library?"

"You have a library?"

"It's a small one," she laughs. When Gale nods, she leads him to the stairs, where she hesitates. "Could you try to be quiet when we go upstairs? My mum, she's…sleeping,"

He jerks his head into a nod, confused. Why is her mother asleep at 4 in the afternoon? Something in voice stops him from asking. With his hunter's walk, he's more silent that Madge is. They reach the 3rd floor, she opens a door to the left, revealing a small room lined with bookcases. The bookcases are brimming with books of all colours and sizes. A small sofa and two armchairs are placed in the middle of the room. When he inhales, he can smell old books and dust.

Madge stands at the door as Gale walks around, observing the room. He turns back to her once he's finished. She looks nervous. He's never seen her look nervous.

"What do you think?" He looks around once more, breathing deeply.

"It's one of the most amazing places I've ever seen," She grins at him, and walks over to one of the armchairs. He moves towards the bookshelves, observing the titles more closely. _Great Expectations, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Book Thief, _and hundreds more. All look extremely old. Gale is never really been interested in books. He has much more important things to do. Feeding his family, for one. But all he wants to do is stay here, in this room with Madge Undersee, reading books for the rest of his life. And, frankly, it scares the hell out of him. He selects a random book and sits down in the other armchair.

"Have you read this one?" he holds out the book for her to see.

"Yeah,"

"What's it about? This '_Romeo and Juliet_'?"

"It used to be a play. People performed it on stage. Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families hate each other, but Romeo and Juliet fall in love and marry in secret. In the end, they both think the other is dead, so they kill themselves and the feud ends. They were called 'star-crossed lovers'," she says softly.

They watch each other, both silent.

"Is your mother ill?" Gale suddenly burst out with. He blushes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask it just came out,"

Madge smiles sadly at him, "It's fine. Yeah, she kinda is,"

"Oh," The silence stretches on. Gale keeps telling himself what an idiot he is. He shouldn't have said anything.

"She's dying," Madge says softly. Gale watches as she looks away and bites her lip.

"I'm sorry," He finds himself itching to go over and comfort her, but he stays in his armchair.

"No, no, it's fine," she lets out a dry laugh, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I just felt like… I don't know…like I needed to tell someone,"

"Nobody else knows?"

She shakes her head, "My father told me not to tell anyone," She pauses, "Promise me you won't tell anyone,"

Her face looks so scared that he walks over to her and takes her hand.

"I promise," He squeezes her hand in a way that he hopes is comforting.

"You know, you're pretty okay, Hawthorne,"

He smiles, "Ditto, Undersee,"

"Can I ask you a question?" Madge asks, hesitantly. When Gale nods, she slides her hand away from his and continues, "You said this is one of the most amazing places you've seen. What's the other?"

"The woods," he answers immediately.

"I've never seen them," _Of course not, you're the Mayor's daughter;_ he has to stop himself from saying. Instead, he describes them, hoping it will cheer her up.

"They're my favourite place. They feel alive, you know? Greens and browns everywhere, as far as you can see. The birds sing and it's so peaceful. I can think there," His plan of cheering her up has succeeded, as her face is bright.

"They sound wonderful," she breathes. Her blue eyes stare into his and his grey into hers. He feels ensnared. Then he remembers. This is _Madge Undersee_. **Madge. Undersee.** He jerks back and clears his throat.

"I need to get home. Ma will be worried,"

"Of course," She says slowly. They make their way back downstairs, stopping at the front door.

"Thanks for the flowers,"

"It's okay," Gale feels shy again, as he usually does with people. With strangers. Madge is not really a stranger anymore, is she?

She smiles, "See you later Gale,"

He hurries out of the door. It's a bit darker than when he arrived, and he estimates it to be around 6pm. He spent two hours at Madge's house. Didn't feel like two hours. Hazelle is going to be angry when he gets home. Gale still takes his time getting home.

He didn't understand what had happened in the library. Were they friends now? Or was that a fluke? Did he even want to be friends with her? Did she? It was all so confusing. This is the sort of reason that he doesn't talk to anyone but his family and friends. People are confusing and he didn't need that. Katniss was one of the least confusing people he knew. The thought of Katniss made his stomach turn. He wondered what she would think about the library. What she would think about him going to Undersee's house in the first place without her. With flowers, none the less. He groaned. Katniss could never know about whatever this was.

Madge fills his mind that night, as he desperately tries to figure out who the hell she actually is.

* * *

Gale manages to get to school before he thinks about Madge Undersee. He spots her in the hallway on the way to his first class. They look at each other, and he could swear that she gives him a small smile before vanishing in the crowds. He stands there, watching her go, when his friends yell out his name and he reluctantly turns away.

For the second day in a row, Gale doesn't pay attention in classes, much to his teacher's chagrin.

"Is this about a girl?" his friend, Braidin sighs at lunch.

"What?"

"This whole zoning out thing. It's about a girl right?"

"No," He narrows his eyes as the table bursts out laughing.

Braidin winks, "Sure, man, He turns to the guy beside him, "How much do you wanna bet it's about a certain Katniss Everdeen?"

Gale sighs. He's heard this before, "She's my best friend,"

"There's a thin line between friends and more than friends, if you know what I'm saying,""

He rolls his eyes. It is about a girl, but not the girl they're thinking of.

After lunch, he sees her again. She totally ignores him, until she bashes into his arm and slips something into his hand.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," She gives him a small wink before striding off. He looks at his hand a sees a piece of paper

His friends laugh.

"A piece a work that one," one of them says.

"Tell me about it," Gale smirks, shoving the paper into his pocket.

It's only when he gets home and goes to his room that he allows himself to read it.

_Hawthorne, be at the end of my street, Saturday, 6pm._

He reads those 10 words over and over, smiling widely.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry about taking my time with the updates, but I recently went back to school to start my GCSE's and the teachers thought it would be fun to give me massive amounts of homework. So please bear with me. I know the whole Pride and Prejudice and R+J thing was cheesy, but I couldn't resist. P+P reminds me of gadge, and R+J sort of sets up Katniss and Peeta's story. Also, I will be sticking to canon, Katniss and Peeta will still be in the games, everything will happen as it did in the books, except Madge might not die in the bombing. **

**Again, thank you all for the reviews/follows/favourites, they make writing worth it (:**


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